Publication Date: July 7, 2020
Publisher: Ignatius Press
From the publisher:
The Catholic Church is on the verge of a transition of great consequence.
As Catholic theologian, historian, and papal biographer George Weigel notes, the next pope will probably have been a teenager or a very young man during the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965); he may even have been a child during those years. Thus the next pope will not have been shaped by the experience of the Council and the immediate debates over its meaning and reception like Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI, and Pope Francis. The next pope, Weigel writes, “will be a transitional figure in a different way than his immediate predecessors. So it seems appropriate to ponder now what the Church has learned during the pontificates of these three conciliar popes—and to suggest what the next pope might take from that learning.”
Drawing on his personal discussions with John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis, as well as his decades of experience with Catholics from every continent, George Weigel examines the major challenges confronting the Catholic Church and its 1.3 billion believers in the twenty-first century: challenges the next pontificate must address as the Church enters new, uncharted territory. To what is the Holy Spirit calling this Church-in-transition? What are the qualities needed in the man who will lead the Church from the Chair of Saint Peter?
Taking lessons from the pontificates of John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis, George Weigel proposes what the Catholic leaders of the future, especially the next pope, must do to remain faithful to the Holy Spirit’s summons to renewed evangelical witness, intensified missionary fervor, and Christ-centered reform in the wake of grave institutional failures, mission confusion, counter-witness, and the secularist challenge to biblical faith.
Media Appearances:
- George Weigel discusses The Next Pope on EWTN’s “The World Over” with Raymond Arroyo:
- George Weigel discusses The Next Pope with Kathryn Jean Lopez in an event sponsored by the Sheen Center:
- George Weigel on Catholic Answers Live:
- George Weigel discusses The Next Pope on a Facebook Live event hosted by Ignatius Press:
- George Weigel on “Rome Reports”:
- George Weigel on “The Hugh Hewitt Show” on the Salem Radio Network:
- George Weigel on The Catholic Association’s “Conversations with Consequences”:
- George Weigel Discusses The Next Pope in an online event hosted by the Catholic Information Center:
- George Weigel on TVO (Ontario)’s “The Agenda with Steve Paikin”, December 16, 2020:
- George Weigel on “Bill Martinez Live” on the SDG Radio Network (interview begins at approximately 32:25)
- George Weigel on the First Things podcast with contributing editor Mark Bauerlein
- George Weigel on “Kresta in the Afternoon” on EWTN Radio (interview begins at approximately 4:36)
- George Weigel on “Catholic Connection” on EWTN Radio (interview begins at approximately 17:15)
- George Weigel on Relevant Radio’s “A Closer Look” with host Sheila Liaugminas (more info here)
- George Weigel on “Morning Blend” on Mater Dei Radio
- Review of The Next Pope at Aleteia
- George Weigel Q-and-A with Carl E. Olson of The Catholic World Report
- George Weigel on “The Drew Mariani Show” on Relevant Radio
- George Weigel interview with German Newspaper Die Tagespost
- The Next Pope is an evangelical call to ressourcement (review in The Catholic World Report)
- George Weigel discusses The Next Pope on “Kresta in the Afternoon”